Boosting Omnichannel Strategy and App Engagement for Douglas

The Client: Douglas

Douglas is a leading European beauty retailer, offering various cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare products online and in physical stores. With a market presence across multiple countries and a growing focus on digital transformation, Douglas aims to provide a seamless omnichannel experience for its customers.

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Our Main Quest: Elevate Omnichannel Experience and App Engagement

The Douglas app team needed an experienced Product Owner to drive their omnichannel strategy and app engagement initiatives. The role had been vacant for several months, creating a gap in leadership and strategic direction. Our mission was to step in and provide immediate product management expertise, aligning the app development with Douglas's broader digital transformation goals.

Douglas expected us to:

• Enhance the omnichannel customer experience
• Increase app engagement and revenue
• Implement new features to support in-store and online integration
• Manage the transition to a new push notification system

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Launch: Rapid Onboarding and Strategy Alignment

We quickly integrated into the Team, assessing the app's current state and aligning our efforts with Douglas's omnichannel strategy. Within the first week, we:

1. Conducted a comprehensive review of ongoing initiatives and backlog
2. Established clear communication channels with stakeholders across different departments
3. Prioritized key features that would have the most significant impact on the omnichannel experience

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Key Initiatives

Initiative 1 - Emarsys Push Notification Integration

SAP Emarsys is the omnichannel customer engagement platform from the SAP Customer Experience portfolio.

❓Problem:

The existing push notification system was not providing the level of personalization and engagement required for an effective omnichannel strategy.

💡Solution:

• Successfully transitioned from Airship to Emarsys for push notifications, in-app messaging, and inbox services
• Implemented a global rollout plan, starting with Austria as the pilot country
• Coordinated with legal and MarTech teams to ensure compliance and proper integration

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Initiative 2 - In-Store Digital Experience Enhancement

❓Problem:

The app lacked features to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping experiences effectively.

💡Solution:

• Initiated the development of in-store navigation features
• Started working on improving geolocation permissions to enable better in-store experiences

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Initiative 3 - International App Rollout

❓Problem:

The Douglas app needed to expand its presence in new markets to support its international growth strategy.

💡Solution:

• Initiated and led the rollout plan for launching the native app in France
• Started the process for app launch in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
• Collaborated closely with legal, CRM, and country-specific teams to ensure compliance and localization
• Developed comprehensive rollout plans tailored to each market's unique requirements
• Coordinated cross-functional efforts to streamline the launch process and minimize delays

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Initiative 4 - Rollout of Skin Analysis Feature

❓Problem:

The Skin Analysis feature, which provides personalized skincare recommendations, needed to be rolled out globally to enhance the app's value proposition and increase user engagement across different markets.

💡Solution:

• Collaborated with various country teams to plan and execute the global rollout
• Coordinated with legal teams to ensure compliance with local regulations in each market
• Worked with UX/UI teams to adapt the feature for cultural preferences in different regions
• Developed a phased rollout strategy to manage resources and gather feedback for improvements

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Discovery Mini-Missions: Our Side Quests

As Interim Product Owner, we supported Douglas with additional initiatives:

• Team transformation and alignment
  • Facilitated the transition from a hybrid (native & app) team to a focused native-only team
  • Conducted workshops to align the team on vision, strategy, and goals
  • Helped the team understand and better manage Scrum processes‍
• Strategic alignment and team motivation‍
  
  • Conducted workshops to align the team on vision and strategy
  • Helped the team understand the broader picture of their work's impact
  • Motivated team members by connecting their daily tasks to larger company goals‍
• Priority setting and backlog management‍
  
  • Facilitated sessions to help the team align on priorities
    
  • Implemented improved backlog management practices‍
• Cross-functional collaboration‍
  
  • Strengthened relationships between development, design, and business teams
  • Improved communication channels for more efficient project executionÇ

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Mission Expansion: Agile Coaching

Based on the success of our Product Owner mission and side quests, our mission was expanded with an additional 2.5-month commitment to support two teams (Web & App) as Agile Coach, addressing their specific pain points with initiatives to elevate process efficiency, team alignment, and delivery predictability.

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‍Initiative 1: Velocity Tracking and Estimation Accuracy

❓Problem:

Both teams struggled with workload predictability and resource allocation due to inconsistent estimation practices.

💡Solution:

• Conducted an in-depth workshop introducing improved estimation practices.
• Integrated best practices, including Planning Poker to avoid anchoring bias, Spikes for research when estimation is uncertain, use of the Story Point Matrix as a reference, and regular re-assessment of estimates.

🚀 Result: Enhanced workload predictability and streamlined resource allocation improved sprint planning efficiency. Velocity per Day (Ratio of Story Points completed per Team capacity) increased by 50% within two months.

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Initiative 2: Documentation and Process Clarity

❓Problem:

Teams struggled to find technical documentation due to dispersed, outdated, or missing content, leading to task and system inconsistencies.

💡Solution:

• Created a structured documentation framework and consolidated technical documentation for both teams.
• Standardized Agile practices and team processes in Confluence to ensure consistency and improve accessibility.
• Enhanced communication protocols to minimize misunderstandings and streamline collaboration:
  • Established clear communication channels for stakeholders, reducing interruptions and unplanned work.

🚀 Result:

Centralized documentation and standardized processes led to improved task consistency, accessibility, and cross-team collaboration.

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Initiative 3: Scrum Events Optimization

❓Problem:

Ceremonies often ran over time, with team feedback reflecting frustration and a lack of preparation, indicating unclear expectations and perceived low importance of the sessions.

💡Solution:

• Optimized event schedules to support better preparation and added a pre-planning session for more efficient planning meetings.
• Established clear agendas and designated owners for each meeting to enhance focus and accountability.
• Enhanced structure for Dailies, Sprint Planning, and Backlog Refinement, prioritizing time efficiency and consistent estimation practices.
• Introduced action item tracking in Retrospectives to support accountability and follow-through.

🚀 Result: Meetings became more efficient and well-organized, with participants better prepared and clear expectations established. Increased accountability reduced frustration and fostered a more cohesive, productive team environment.

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Mission Achievements: Delivered Outcomes

💡 Successfully transitioned to the Emarsys push notification system, setting the stage for more targeted and effective customer communications

💡 Launched the native app in France and laid a strong foundation for Douglas's continued digital transformation and international expansion

💡 Motivated and aligned team, enhanced collaboration and clarity on strategic goals, which contributed to successful project execution

💡 Enhanced accessibility of documentation ensured consistency in practices, fostering better cross-team collaboration.

💡 Minimized interruptions from unplanned work and reduced workflow blockages, enabling smoother project execution.